ID frag?

[jmerideth1]

Picked this up @ the lfs owner wasn't sure what it was but likely a montipora?

 

[nemo1017]

Turbinaria?

 

[AcroNem]

It is a Turbinaria sp. Does it have polyps on both sides of the plating or just one? It's got. Weird growth pattern, could be a couple species. T. irregularis comes to mind. Could be a simple T. reniformis with a weird growth pattern. Cool no matter the species.

 

[Labridaedicted]

It is a Turbinaria sp. Does it have polyps on both sides of the plating or just one? It's got. Weird growth pattern, could be a couple species. T. irregularis comes to mind. Could be a simple T. reniformis with a weird growth pattern. Cool no matter the species.

Spot on! It's most likely T. reniformis as that is one of the more common varieties of Turbinaria that are imported. The polyps seem small for irregularis. It will be tough to say for sure at this bouldering stage, but once it starts plating it should be easier to differentiate.

 

[mort]

I agree reniformis is the most likely. I would imagine the mother colony had quite convaluted plates and this has simply been fragged and stuck vertically.

 

[AcroNem]

Spot on! It's most likely T. reniformis as that is one of the more common varieties of Turbinaria that are imported. The polyps seem small for irregularis. It will be tough to say for sure at this bouldering stage, but once it starts plating it should be easier to differentiate.

Being most common we can say T. reniformis, and you're right that until it's bigger we won't have an exact idea unless he has a microscope. The polyp structure looks like reniformis. Being irregularis is a stretch, but the other species are just a little too far off so I Included it. @mort you could be right that it was mounted upright or was in some strange flow to get that pattern out of it. Again, it's a fun piece especially if it maintained that.

 

[jmerideth1]

Thanks all. It does have polos on both sides. I really liked it (even not knowing what it is).

 

[AcroNem]

I mean does it have polyps on both sides of its plates? Like if there's an upright ridge are they on both sides?

 

[jmerideth1]

Yep I meant polyps. They are all over the surface front and back.

 

[AcroNem]

We'll have to see when it starts plating. If it has polyps on both sides of the plate then we're looking at Turbinaria bifrons. Being small though we can't tell yet.

 

[Labridaedicted]

We'll have to see when it starts plating. If it has polyps on both sides of the plate then we're looking at Turbinaria bifrons. Being small though we can't tell yet.

That would be a great find if its bifrons!!!!

 

[mort]

Thanks all. It does have polos on both sides. I really liked it (even not knowing what it is).

When you say polyps on both sides, do you just mean the back and front of the coral? Or if you follow a plate, does it have polyps on both sides? I ask as the convaluted plates of reniformis can twist right round when grown in turbulent water, so it may appear that polyps are on both sides but there would be only polyps on the front of each formation (if that makes sense). From the picture it looks like the plates have just bent round due water currents.
You can hopefully make out what I mean below. There are polyps on the upper surface but not underneath and when flow causes these plates to grow over one another it can look like there are polyps everywhere when they are only on one side.

 

[jmerideth1]

Ah, I see what you are saying. So I'm not sure right now , but later I will look It's kinda hard too tell because of the size and where I have it.

 

[jmerideth1]

Well I looked at it and pics of corals and read an article on Turbinaria biferins it seems most likely reniformis. I will keep an eye on it. It has a frag-plug it's glued too which is then glued too a ceramic tile. I will be taking that ugly monstrosity off and attaching it too a decent rock or something else. I will try too get some better pics then and most likely waiting for it too grow up too see how it shapes up.

 

[jasonb87]

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